Lint removing device



March 19, 1968 A. J. RoucH, JR 3,373,457

LINT REMOVING DEVICE Filed May 6, 1965 44 /4 04 Paacl, (/2

66 Z A/M United States Patent 3,373,457 LINT REMOVING DEVICE Anthony J. Roach, Jr., 583 Candle Light Lane, Hazelwood, Mo. 63042 Filed May 6, 1965, Ser. No. 453,667 2 Claims. (Cl. 15ll04) The present invention relates generally to devices for removing lint and other foreign matter from clothing, fabric and other like articles.

Various means have been devised and used heretofore to clean and remove foreign matter from clothing and I the like including cleaning fluids, brushes, adhesives, and other like products. All of the known means, however, are relatively expensive and for the most part are unsuitable as a pocket or purse item. For this reason the known means are frequently not available when they are most needed. Furthermore, the known cleaning means require special equipment and care in handling and for these and other reasons are unsuitable for many purposes.

The present device overcomes these and other shortcomings and disadvantages of the known cleaning means by providing a relatively inexpensive, refillable, pocket size item capable of containing a relatively large supply of an adhesive cleaning material. Furthermore, the cleaning surface of the subject device is on a reversible wall of the item and therefore can be carried in a concealed manner in a pocket or purse. In order to use the device it is only necessary to reverse the wall.

A principal object of the subject invention is to prov de a relatively inexpensive, convenient pocket or purse size article for removing lint and other foreign matter from clothing and the like.

Another object is to provide a refillable cartridge for carrying a supply of adhesively coated cleaning sheets useful for removing lint and other foreign matter from clothing and the like.

Another object is to provide means for removing stacked sheets of adhesively coated material a sheet at a time.

Another object is to provide a novel container for a clothes cleaning article.

Another object is to provide a pocket siZe clothes cleaning article particularly well suited for advertising purposes.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after considering the following detailed specification of several preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device constructed according to the present invention, said device being shown in inoperative condition;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the parts of the device in a different relative position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the device the two main portions of the device separated from each other;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the device of FIG. 3 reassemblied in usable condition;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing the reversible portion with a stack of adhesive sheets mounted thereon, the uppermost sheet being partially peeled off to expose a fresh sheet therebelow;

FIG. 7 is a perspective View showing a modified form, said device being shown in several different operating conditions in solid and phantom outline; and,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the details of the construction of the stack 36 in FIGS. 16.

Referring to the drawing more particularly by reference numbers, the number in FIG. 1 refers generally to a container for a lint removing device constructed according to the present invention. The container 20 includes an elongated channel-shaped body portion 22 formed by a pair of spaced opposed walls 24 and 26 and a connecting wall 28 extending therebetween. The container also includes a reversible wall member 34) which cooperates with the body portion 22 as shown in FIGS. 1-5. The member 30 can be mounted on the body in the inoperative position shown in FIGS. 1, in which position the cleaning portion of the subject device is conveniently contained for carrying in a pocket or purse, or the member 30 can be reversed on the body 22 by sliding it endwardly out of the body 22 (FIG. 4) and reinserting it in the operative position as shown in FIG. 5.

The particular embodiment of the wall member 30 which is shown in the drawing has V-shaped grooves 32 for-med in the opposite side edges thereof which grooves 32 slideably cooperate with opposed V-shaped projections 34 formed in opposing relationship on the inside of the opposite side walls 24 and 26 of the body 22. It is obvious, however, that the contour of the grooves 32 and projections 34 can be varied and their relative positions reversed without changing the nature of the connection therebetween or the operation of the device.

The wall member 30 has a stack 36 of adhesively coated sheets 38 mounted on one surface thereof. The sheets 38 are all of the same general size and shape as the member 30 and each sheet 38 has at least one side that is coated with an adhesive material capable of picking up lint and other foreign matter on fabric or other articles when moved thereover. In the preferred form of the construction the bottom-most sheet 40' in the stack 36, which is the sheet that is next to the wall member 30, preferably has an adhesive coating on both of its surfaces. One of these surfaces is used to attach the stack 36 to the wall member 36. The other adhesive sheets 38 in the stack 36 need only be coated on one surface and the uppermost adhesive sheet may be covered by a non-adhesive sheet or layer 42 at the time the stack is prepared for convenience in handling. The bottom sheet 40 in a fresh refill stack 36 may also have a non-adhesive covering layer. A refill stack 36 is preferably thick enough to substantially fill the space between the body wall 28 and the reversible wall member 30.

It is also desirable to provide a short non-adhesive end portion 44 (FIG. 6) on the adhesive side of each sheet 38 to facilitate the user getting hold of the uppermost sheet 3 8 when separating it from the stack 3-6. If this is done, it is preferred to have the uncoated end portions 44 on adjacent sheets 38 at opposite ends of the stack 36 to better maintain the shape of the stack and to minimize curling of the sheet ends.

An end wall 46 (FIG. 4) may optionally be provided at one end of the channel-shaped body 22. Such an end wall will help keep dirt and other foreign matter out of the container thereby prolonging the life of the sheets and will also help to maintain the wall member 30 in proper position on the body 22 by preventing it from sliding when the device is being carried or used. This is important particularly when the device is carried in a pocket or purse.

FIG. 7 shows a modified form of container 50 in which an elongated body portion 52 has rounded notches or grooves 54 formed in the opposite side walls 56 and 58. The grooves 54 cooperate with spaced pairs of rounded projections 60 formed on opposite side edges of a reversible wall member 62. In this construction the body 52 is constructed of a resilient material such as a plastic material and the rounded projections 60 snap into cooperative engagement with the rounded grooves or channels 54 formed in the body portion 52. In the modified construction the slide 62 preferably extends beyond one end wall 64 of the body portion 52 to provide a lip 66 which can be easily engaged by the finger or thumb of the user in order to disengage the wall member from the body during reversing thereof. It is not necessary, however, to completely separate the wall member 62 from the body in this construction and when one end is disengaged it can be reversed by pivoting it on the body and reengaging the small projections 60 at the Opposite ends of the same grooves 54. In FIG. 7 the reversible wall member 62 is shown having one of its ends disengaged from the body portion 52 during a reversing operation and in phantom outline the same disengaged end is shown reversed and ready to be slid along the body portion 2 with the projections 60 adjacent to the opposite end moving along in the grooves 54. Thereafter, the disengaged projections will be snapped into engagement with the grooves at the opposite ends thereof to complete the reversal. Stops 68 may also be provided in the grooves 54 to limit movement of the projections 64) therealong. In the modified construction, as in the construction shown in FIGS. 1-6, the shape of the grooves 54 and the projections can be varied as desired.

Thus there has been shown and described several preferred forms of a cleaning device specifically adapted for removing lint and other similar foreign materials from fabrics such as clothing and the like, which device fulfills all of the objects and advantages sought therefor. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the device, however, will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawing. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for removing lint and other foreign particles from the surface of clothing and other fabric articles comprising an elongated channel-shaped member defined by a bottom wall and shaped side walls, another wall member extending between the spaced side walls of the channelshaped member, said other Wall member and said spaced side walls having means cooperatively engageable in different alternative positions of the said other wall member so that the position of said other wall member can be reversed and inverted on the channel-shaped member, said cooperatively engageable means including means forming a sliding connection between the channel-shaped member and said other member, a sheet member having an adhesive coating on one surface thereof mounted on one side of the said other wall member, and a plurality of similar sheet members each having an adhesive coating on one surface arranged in a stack which is mounted on the aforesaid sheet member, each adhesively coated sheet member having a non-adhesive portion at one end only, said non-adhesive end portions of adjacent sheet members being positioned at opposite ends of the stack, the stack moving from a stored condition in one position of said other wall member to an exposed condition when the other wall member is reversed in which latter position the adhesive coated surfaces face outwardly.

2. A device for removing lint and other foreign particles from the surface of clothing and other fabric articles comprising an elongated container formed of yieldable material, said container being defined by a bottom Wall, spaced side Walls, at least one end wall, and a separable wall member, means for mounting said separable wall member extending between the spaced side walls and spaced from the bottom wall, said mounting means including means on the separable wall cooperative engageable with means on the spaced side walls in different relative positions to enable the separable wall member to be mounted in different positions on the container, said mounting means including cooperating means on said container and said separable wall member which are adapted to snap into cooperative engagement under pressure, a plurality of sheet members each having an adhesive coating on one surface assembled in a stack which is secured to the separable wall member for removing lint and other foreign matter from fabric articles brought in contact therewith, each adhesively coated sheet member in said stack having a non-adhesive portion at one end only, said non-adhesive end portion of adjacent sheet members being positioned at opposite ends of the stack to facilitate separation of adjacent sheet members in the stack, the stack moving from a stored condition in one position of said separable wall member to an exposed condition when the separable wall member is in a different position in which latter position the adhesive coatings face outwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,166,296 12/1915 Wolfe 15-185 1,219,504 3/1917 Summer 15-258 2,528,602 11/ 1950 Magit. 2,542,774 2/1951 Hutchinson. 1 2,574,152 11/1951 Lewis et a]. 206-56 2,651,070 9/1953 Zimmerman 15-l84 X 2,693,610 11/1954 Hensley 15105 X 2,724,847 11/1955 Krasno 15104 2,764,770 10/1956 Frank 15--l85 X FOREIGN PATENTS 22,576 10/1903 Great Britain. 82,262 8/ 1953 Norway.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR REMOVING LINT AND OTHER FOREIGN PARTICLES FROM THE SURFACE OF CLOTHING AND OTHER FABRIC ARTICLES COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER DEFINED BY A BOTTOM WALL AND SHAPED SIDE WALLS, ANOTHER WALL MEMBER EXTENDING BETWEEN THE SPACED SIDE WALLS OF THE CHANNELSHAPED MEMBER, SAID OTHER WALL MEMBER AND SAID SPACED SIDE WALLS HAVING MEANS COOPERATIVELY ENGAGEABLE IN DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE POSITIONS OF THE SAID OTHER WALL MEMBER SO THAT THE POSITION OF SAID OTHER WALL MEMBER CAN BE REVERSED AND INVERTED ON THE CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER, SAID COOPERATIVELY ENGAGEABLE MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FORMING A SLIDING CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER AND SAID OTHER MEMBER, A SHEET MEMBER HAVING AN ADHESIVE COATING ON ONE SURFACE THEREOF MOUNTED ON ONE SIDE OF THE SAID OTHER WALL MEMBER, AND A PLURALITY OF SIMILAR SHEET MEMBERS EACH HAVING AN ADHESIVE COATING ON ONE SURFACE ARRANGED IN A STACK WHICH IS MOUNTED ON THE AFORESAID SHEET MEMBER, EACH ADHESIVELY COATED SHEET MEMBER HAVING A NON-ADHESIVE PORTION AT ONE END ONLY, SAID NON-ADHESIVE END PORTIONS OF ADJACENT SHEET MEMBERS BEING POSITIONED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE STACK, THE STACK MOVING FROM A STORED CONDITION IN ONE POSITION OF SAID OTHER WALL MEMBER TO AN EXPOSED CONDITION WHEN THE OTHER WALL MEMBER IS REVERSED IN WHICH LATTER POSITION THE ADHESIVE COATED SURFACES FACE OUTWARDLY. 